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Minor League Affiliates In the House!

Nationals Principal Owner Mark D. Lerner will be blogging throughout the 2010 MLB Winter Meetings, giving Nats fans a unique perspective of the goings-on in Orlando. Check back often for the latest updates.

Day 3 of the MLB Winter Meetings is in the books. It was another busy day in the Nationals team suite. Everybody had their jobs to do, but Rick Eckstein was never far from our thoughts.

In case you missed yesterdays blog, Rick donated a kidney today to his older brother Ken. We got word late in the day that both brothers are doing well, but our thoughts and prayers remain with them.

Tonight, we hosted our minor league affiliates for a reception here at the Dolphin Hotel. Top officials from Syracuse (Triple-A), Harrisburg (Double-A), Potomac (Single-A), Hagerstown (Single-A), Auburn (Rookie) and Viera (Rookie) were all in attendance.We are very fortunate to have such a great lineup of affiliates. I always enjoy connecting with the people who run those affiliates, as they are an important part of the Nationals family. Our affiliates take wonderful care of our young prospects and always work hard to sustain an environment conducive to development.

Also, I had another opportunity today to visit the baseball tradeshow. It seems like the tradeshow gets bigger each year, with hundreds of vendors offering products and services. We are proud of the Nationals Park experience including everything from the merchandise and food options that we offer to giveaways and this is an opportunity each year to see the new options available to make sure we remain at the forefront in the industry.

I will ink my final blog from the Winter Meetings midday on Thursday, following MLBs Rule 5 Draft. Then, we fly home to Washington. Stay tuned.

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